The Enterprise came under sudden attack, sustaining major damage to virtually all decks. Leaking coolants contaminated the entire stock of raw protein substance, the base material of all the galley's synthesized foods. Chief Engineer Scott estimates that repairs to our warp engines will take eight or nine constant days at the very least. If we don't find an adequate food source soon, the entire crew of the Enterprise will starve.

Star Trek premiered on television in 1966 and ended it's short initial run three years later. However this was not the end by far, neither for the show or for the games that would soon follow. Sometime in the early 70's an unlicensed game was written for play on a mainframe, the first of a long line of games based on the series. In 1986 Simon & Schuster, Inc. released their very first Star Trek game, an interactive adventure which many people consider to be one of the best in the franchise. "Star Trek: The Promethean Prophecy" casts you as the captain of the Starship Enterprise. As the game begins you are exploring an uncharted region of space only to be attacked moments later by an unknown entity. Once the battle is over you must lead an away team conisting of yourself, Spock, Dr. McCoy and ship xenoethnologist Lt. Dimas to the planet Prometheus Four in search of a suitable replacement food source for your damaged vessel. What you will soon discover that you are not alone on this world.

Those who are familiar with games such as Zork will be able to jump right in. The interface is clean and functional, consisting of two panels; the upper where text appears and a lower panel where you will type your commands. The game interpreter works well, allowing you to type plain english commands such as "Spock, pick up the phaser" or "Kiss Uhura". I found the plot to be very well written and despite the lack of graphics you'll soon find yourself drawn deeply into the story. Fans of the show will be happy to find that your shipmates are in full character, from the logical remarks of your first officer to the sarcastic replies made to him by Dr. McCoy. Simon & Schuster released a sequel called The Kobayashi Alternative a year later, and while a very good game itself I believe the Promethean Prophecy to be the more enjoyable of the two.

Released on a single 5.25" floppy disk, the game included a nice book containing a short story to get you started on your adventure, basic gameplay instructions, and a laminated user guide. Overall a very nice package for the time in which it was made. The game was also available for the Apple II, Atari and Commodore line of home computers.

If you enjoy text adventures or are just a Star Trek fan I highly recommend this game. Be advised though, many of the puzzles may take quite some time to figure out. To me that is one of the things that make this a great game. Of course that takes a lot of the fun out of the game so do spend some time and try it on your own. Be sure to ask Spock for advice if you are unsure what to do next. Enjoy!

"Space, the final frontier. These are the lost voyages of the Starship Enterprise..."

Arguably the best Star Trek adventure game ever made until Interplay's 25th Anniversary, this Simon & Schuster text game is actually stronger than its better-known sequel, The Kobayashi Alternative, because it has better puzzles, more interesting plot, and authentic characters (especially the cynical comments from Bones). As captain Kirk, explore the Promethean's planet to find food source lest your crew starves to death. The game's interface is functional and does a good job of mimicking the Enterprise's bridge: the screen is divided into Text window (where text appears), Kirk window (where you type commands), Status window (including the ship's location and destination), and Conversation window (which pops up when a character addresses you, with different colors for each character). Overall, Promethean Prophecy is a fun game recommended for all Star Trek fans-- but beward of several time-limit puzzles and ignoring the Prime Directive!